Complex
by chicagochi4183
Summary: In Ravenclaw, those of wit and learning will always find their kind. Rose Weasley, and her friends Andie, Evelyn, Astraea, and Eden, know that this year is going to be their year. It may not play out exactly how they wanted, but at least they've got each other.
1. Introduction

**A/N: ****So after what feels like years of debating, I've entirely restructured this story and it's ready to be posted. I don't own Rose, magic, Hogwarts, or anything else you recognize but this story is mine. Don't be afraid to hit review and let me know what you think! **

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><p><span><strong>Rose Nymphadora Weasley<strong>

Rose Weasley had a horrible habit of not doing what her father told her to. It started when she was four, and her magic came in. Of course, all witches and wizards are born with their magic, but Rose's had decided to announce itself quite suddenly and proudly when she was four, by suddenly levitating every sweet in the house into her waiting arms. This, in itself, wouldn't have been extraordinary, except for the circumstances surrounding the event.

Young Rose and a very frustrated Ronald were in the midst of another of their, rather famous, sweets arguments. He had just put Hugo down for a nap, and he was supposed to be doing the same with Rose.

"Rose, sweetheart, I've already given you a biscuit, and you know your mother's rules. There won't be another until dinner. Now, come on, it's time for your nap." Ron could barely contain his smile. Already Rose reminded him so much of Hermione, able to argue over just about anything. He dreaded the days when she would start winning.

"But, but, but I want one now!" she had shrieked. Immediately there was a strange silence in the room, and then the faint sound of whizzing. Rose, with her eyes closed, balled her hands into fists.

"Now, now, now, now, now!" she demanded, and the whizzing sound grew stronger. Ron looked up just in time to duck, as packages of biscuits, and just about every other sweet they had in the house came flying towards Rose. Unsure of what to do, he pulled out his wand, turning it towards the whizzing sweets, before deciding better of it. As an excited Rose squealed, the objects neatly stacked themselves in her waiting arms.

"More!" She shrieked, as sweets Ron hadn't even known they'd had stacked themselves on the growing tower until the very last bag of Bertie Bott's every Flavor Beans stacked itself gently on top.

"Froggy!" Rose had spotted the Ron's secret stash of Chocolate Frogs, and quickly and unceremoniously dropped everything else. Sitting there, in the middle of their kitchen, she grabbed a box, ripped it open, and grasped the wriggling frog. Quickly, so as not to disturb her, he reached for a nearby camera and snapped a picture of her giggling.

Rose looked up, still giggling, into the flash before smiling bashfully. Standing she grabbed another box of the frogs and presented it to her dad with an adorable smile.

"Naptime?" she asked as Ron tore open his own box, biting off the frog's head. Ron smiled, and with a wave of his wand the sweets started to put themselves back. His anger was forgotten in the midst of the adorable moment. Scooping her up, he took a bite out of her frog as well, before shuffling her up the stairs.

"Naptime" he agreed. He knew he'd have quite a story to tell Hermione when she got home.

As Rose got older, her relationship with her father never changed, except that Rose began to be less adorable, and more beautiful. While Hugo seemed to inherit both Hermione's awkward teeth and hair, and Ron's gangly frame, Rose seemed to take only the best genes her parents had to offer. Her hair was wavy, nowhere near the crazy curls of her mother's childhood, and Weasley red, but it suited her pale skin and her father's blue eyes.

With this came her mother's intelligence and her father's logic, both wrapped up in a package of charming grace that neither of her parents felt comfortable claiming. She had Hermione's tact, but lacked the know-it-all genes. In fact, if it wasn't for her Weasley temper and her Hermione-like fascination with learning, both her parents would have wondered if she was theirs at all. One more thing she inherited was both of her parents' loyalty, particularly to her father. Their relationship was special, despite the fact that Rose contradicted him as much as possible. They both understood each other, both of them equally hard-headed. They shouldn't have been close, butting heads as often as they did, but it always turned out alright in the end.

Rose grew up with her family in a house Ron had purchased as soon as he'd finished Auror training. It was startlingly like the burrow, in that it was always full of Weasleys, as well as the occasional Potter or Scamander here and there. Rose loved most of her cousins dearly, although she found Molly just the slightest bit insufferable. Out of all of them, she preferred to spend time away from the masses with one of her eldest cousins, Dominique. The two of them got along better than any of the others, both understanding how the other thought. It was Rose who ended up being the happiest when Dominique got sorted into Ravenclaw, one of the first Weasleys to do so, certainly the first for many generations.

Full or empty, the house was filled with the sound of Rose and Ron, butting heads. Sometimes Hermione wondered if Rose did certain things, like throwing her toy broomstick out the window or telling her dad she wanted to be in Slytherin, purely to be contrary. At the end of the day though, she knew it wasn't true. Rose and Ron got along because they were the same, but they fought because they were different. Hermione merely smiled when they argued, thinking back to the nastier sides of Ron that she had to endure over the years. Having Rose argue with him and only him, for the girl almost never had a problem with what Hermione told her, served Ron right.

Rose arrived at Kings Cross that day holding her mother's hand, after refusing to hold her father's in fear of being thought a baby. Ron had merely laughed, before packing them all into the car, but now as they stood at platform 9 ¾ looking for Harry and Ginny, it was starting to bother him a bit. He reached out to take her hand, pleased when this time she didn't refuse, immediately letting go of her mother to lean against her father's arm. Hermione wasn't at all bothered, busy trying to keep Hugo from running off onto the train.

**Andrea Katherine Kelley**

Andie was never not funny, not even as a child. For her third birthday her Uncle Peter had gotten her a book of jokes, and by her fourth birthday she'd used every single one. Somehow even the corniest ones she managed to make funny, always earning her laughs from delighted members of her family. Her older sister, Samantha, was seven years her elder, making it clear that her birth had been a bit of an accident. Nonetheless, she was never alone. Once her sister started going to Hogwarts, she was regaled with tales of Hufflepuff House, of the people who lived there, of the wacky professors, and of just about everything else.

More than making people laugh, Andie herself loved to laugh. She laughed at every joke, whether it was funny or not, and more often than not laughed at things that weren't meant to be jokes as well. She told puns, spewed sarcasm, and occasionally inserted a witty remark or two that had people cracking up. In fact, amongst all the laughter, her family almost didn't notice when Andie started to be pretty. Samantha had been an adorable child, inheriting her mother's dark black locks, however she had faded to be just above average as she got older, not that anyone was complaining. Fiercely loyal and strong-willed, she still managed to attract her fair share of friends and acquaintances, retaining her thousand-watt smile.

By contrast, Andie had been fairly plain for a large amount of her childhood, her blonde hair curly but kept short, and her eyes gray and flat. It hardly mattered; Andie could keep even the most sullen witch or wizard laughing. As her mother Tabitha was a healer, it wasn't unusual for her to find herself the center of attention of a gaggle of healers, all amusing themselves at the jokes the girl told. No matter how many times they'd heard it before, she always managed to deliver the punch line in just the right way. To Andie, humor was the glue that held everything together. Even her magic, the few times it ever flared up, tended to make people range from giggles to uncontrollable shrieks of laughter.

One such time, a six year old Andie was feeling particularly ignored as her father Napoleon had some of his ministry co-workers over to dinner. Samantha was thrilling the guests with tales of Hogwarts that reminded them of their own childhood, meanwhile a still-plain Andie was left to play with Wesley Brose, whose habit of reading everything he could see she found annoying and unhelpful. She'd tried entertaining Wes with her best jokes, but his laughter was unsatisfying when there were bigger fish in the room who seemed more content to sit quietly and hear about her sister's exams.

Her decision made, she stood swiftly, ready to go on to bigger and better things. She was all set to burst in on their conversation when Wes, confused, caught up to her. She hadn't wanted him to follow her, but now that he was there she had no choice but to include him. She wondered faintly to herself what she was going to say, grabbing his hand and dragging him into the room with her. Unfortunately, she wasn't old enough to understand why the two of them there holding hands caused such a big ruckus. But, she did understand that for the first time she was being laughed at, and not with. Angry, she let go of his hand and looked for anything to get the attention off of her. Spying the punch bowl, she decided to attempt to be charming, and grab both guests some punch. However, in her frustration, she accidentally tapped into her magic.

Swiftly, the punch bowl lifted itself into the air, carrying itself slowly towards a concentrating Andie. As it moved it wobbled, the punch splashing over the sides and onto the floor. It was Samantha who noticed first, and she promptly went bananas, laughing at both her sister's look of concentration, and the slowly dwindling amount of punch left in the poor bowl. At Samantha's laughter, the already laughing adults looked up and found they could do nothing but laugh as well. As Andie stood by, smiling proudly, the bowl reached her, depositing its contents onto the poor girls head. At first she was in shock, but she quickly joined in everyone's laughter, even as the punch dripped through her hair and onto her clothes.

After a few spells, she grabbed Wes's hand and rushed him back to the modest playroom. In a much better mood, she wanted to see if he could beat her in a game of toy Quidditch with the miniature pitch her father had set up for them.

As time passed, Andie seemed to grow into her looks, her hair finally ending its war with itself, and her eyes gaining their own sparkle. However, her looks seemed determined to be at odds with her personality. As she grew older, she began to look more and more mature, complacent, and even slightly arrogant. She was pretty, of course, but she did not look like the kind of girl who cracked jokes, or did things for fun. Still, it hardly bothered Andie, who was just happy to be described as pretty, as she knew Samantha and her mother both were. What did it matter what kind of pretty it was?

Besides, it only made the shock of discovering her talent for humor even better. After seeing her, people were always doubly surprised when she cracked a joke, and doubly delighted when it was funny. If anything, the prettier she got as she grew older, the better people reacted to her humor. As Samantha got older and began to have her own life, Andrea snugly fit into the empty spot, both the daughter that could be dressed up and shown off, and the one that could be counted on to entertain guests. The only thing Andie didn't like about getting prettier was the reaction of Wes who, unfortunately in her opinion, was her sole friend.

Apparently the prettier she got, the more she looked like a girl. To Wes, this meant he was free to mock her, as a representative of her entire gender. He would make fun of her for having to get dressed up in skirts, for having to do up her hair, and just about anything else he could think of. With Samantha out of the house completely by her first year, Andie was more than ready to get to Hogwarts and meet new people.

Although her parents had gone though it all before with Samantha, it still felt odd to them to be sending their youngest daughter off to Hogwarts. As they, along with Wes's parents, tried to get the two to pose for a picture, Andie was busy scouting out every girl that passed who looked even remotely Hogwarts age. She was curious to see which of them would be her new friend, especially since Wes wouldn't do any longer.

**Eden Marie Clarinda Creswell**

One thing her mother would always remember about Eden, even if she went senile and remembered nothing else, was that Eden had been born smiling. Most babies came out expressionless, indeed many thought a smile was a learned gesture, but Eden came out with her toothless mouth stretched wide in delight. Even with closed eyes, her face had conveyed only utter excitement at being born. Of course, that had faded when she promptly took in her first breath and started crying, but nevertheless her birth had delighted her mother.

Of course, her mother was not likely to forget much else about Eden either. Eden Marie was soon to be followed by Evelinda Aurore and then Elton Dylan, but Eden managed to be the smartest out of her three siblings. Her parents Eloise and John Jacob owned a stable and riding school in Surrey, which gave them plenty of time to pay attention to their rather unique children. Off things seemed to happen about the house all the time as their children got older.

One day after teasing his sisters Elton woke up completely bald, but neither girl would cop to cutting it, and the locks themselves were nowhere to be found. Sometimes, when Evelinda felt ignored, her two siblings would lose their voices, only for them to come back the next morning. Sweets would appear in Elton's room whenever he was upset, although nobody had any idea how they'd gotten there. The strangest things seemed to happen to Eden when she met new people. Whenever she met a new person, whether at the riding school and stables, or sometimes even at her real school, she would get so excited that she would literally glow. If you didn't know to look you could miss it, but once her mum saw it she always noticed.

As the girls and Elton got older, these events happened less and less frequently, until they were almost a thing of the past. At any rate Eloise and John Jacob certainly had a lot to be proud of. All three of their children excelled in school, earning top marks in their classes even from a young age. However, Eloise was always especially proud of Eden. All of her children were pretty, although she had no idea how it had happened, but Eden was more than that. Eden was downright lovely. She had wide eyes and curly, light brown hair, and smiled all the time. Even when she was sad, which was very rare for this eldest daughter, Eden could muster up the largest smile.

As their children got older both Eloise and John Jacob noticed that Eden was also very friendly. She was exceptional at making friends. With one smile she could win over even the nastiest bully, and she had always managed to do so as well. More than that, she was always making people smile. Even the horses seemed happier when she was around. Eloise could remember one time she'd caught Eden playing in the stables past her bedtime.

After putting her children to bed Eloise was ready to put the horses to bed too. John Jacob had gone out to dinner with an old friend, but she knew that the stable hands should have done most of the work. She couldn't wait until her own children were old enough to help in the barn, as she had when she'd been younger. As she entered the stable, she was surprised to find the lights already on. Figuring a stable hand had left them, she worked for a while, until she heard a quiet giggling and braying. At first she thought it would be from a stable horse, but she soon realized that it was coming from a boarded horse, Brayer. He was a friendly horse, but his stall was always kept locked, and the lock was too high for five-year-old Eden to reach.

Alarmed, she approached the stall and peered in. To her surprise, Eden was on his back, braiding his mane and giggling. She was in the middle of telling him the story of Little Red Riding Hood, one of her favorites. Eloise moved to enter the stall, only to find the stall door locked. Confused, she unlocked it and carefully entered.

"Eden Marie Clarinda Creswell, what are you doing up past your bed time?" Eloise asked, causing Brayer to snort. Eden turned a guilty smile at her mother, her eyes widening.

"Brayer was lonely" she tried, wide brown eyes looking more mischievous than chastened.

"How did you get into the stall?" Eloise asked, reaching up and carrying her daughter down from the horse's back. Still carrying her, Eloise backed out of the stall and closed it, before sliding the lock firmly into place.

"I flew Mama!" Eden exclaimed proudly, "all the way from my room!" Eloise sighed. Once Eden got into playing pretend, nobody could convince her that it wasn't true. Eden's favorite pretend was that she flew places, and Eloise had come to accept that at certain times, Eden could be an exceptional climber.

As Eden got older, however, it became clear to her parents that something was up with their children, which is why it almost didn't come as a surprise to them when Eden's Hogwarts letter arrived. They had been shocked by the owl it came with, who flew off as soon as a trembling Eloise had grabbed the letter. As soon as they'd responded to the letter, by regular post, a nice, almost jolly looking man had come by to teach them everything he said they'd need to know. An excited Eden had strolled through Magical London holding firmly to both parents hands while the man helped them buy a wand, textbooks, cauldrons, robes, and everything else they'd need. After assurance from the man that their other two children possessed this same magic prowess, they'd bought a few things to keep around the home as well. Mr. Longbottom promised them that nothing had to change, that someone would meet them at Kings Cross September 1st to bid Eden farewell, and that she'd be able to write and see them for the winter, spring, and summer holiday.

A few days before, they'd gone to a hotel right by Kings Cross, deciding to make an adventure of everything. As promised, a man met them at the station. He lead them smoothly, albeit a bit skeptically, to the platform. Although her parents seemed a bit nervous, Eden was nothing but excited to see the people she'd be going to school with. Her excitement started with the magnificent train, which she could just see through the fog. As Evelinda Aurore and Elton Dylan attempted to break free and explore, Eden, Eloise, and John Jacob took it all in.

**Evelyn Jamie Loom **

Evelyn Loom was the daughter most mothers secretly dream of. From the moment of Evelyn's conception, Alana's life had gotten better. First she found out her boyfriend was a wizard, and then when he found out she still loved him he proposed. Although their marriage was a bit rushed by her pregnancy, Alana and Nelson turned out to be a very compatible pair. Because wizards were done with their schooling at seventeen, nineteen year old Nelson was actually completely able to support his eighteen year old wife with his ministry job, and as he got promoted Alana's life got better and better.

It also helped that Evelyn was the prettiest baby either of them had ever seen. If she wasn't too busy learning how to be a magic-less wife to a wizard, Alana would have deposited Evelyn for baby modeling. And, unlike some pretty babies, Evelyn grew into an even prettier toddler. She had charming dimples, smiled at all the right times, and seemed to be perfectly content to be doted upon and smiled at. It would seem that Evelyn was her mother's good luck charm, as she always seemed to be making her mother's life better. Once she had smiled at a boy while she was in a wizard park with her mother. The boy had immediately run over to introduce himself to the toddler, and with him came a gruff old man also known as Nelson's boss.

As his grandson was taken with Evelyn, who could barely do more than smile, clap, and giggle shyly, so was the old man. He soon had Nelson and his family over to celebrate Nelson's promotion. In many cases when Evelyn and Alana went out in muggle London people would stop to catch a look at the pretty little girl, and end up chatting to her mother as well. During one of these chats, a woman revealed herself to be a professor at a small nursing school, and asked Alana if she'd ever thought about it as a career. Of course she hadn't, but before she knew it she was enrolled in nursing school, and found herself doing quite well. Even Evelyn's magic seemed to make Alana's life better.

One of the first times Evelyn was going to be left with a babysitter, in this case Nelson's school-age sister Lonnie, Alana found herself in a horrid predicament. Evelyn had been unusually fussy all evening as Alana scampered to get ready. As she rushed to comfort a once-again crying Evelyn she knocked into a bottle of ink Nelson had left out. A streak of deep blue was now vibrantly displayed across her vivid red dress. Frustrated and on the verge of tears herself, Alana frantically tried to scrub the stain out with one hand while calming Evelyn with the other. Her scrubbing was only making things worse, and she knew Nelson would be back any minute with Lonnie, expecting her to be ready.

She deposited an appeased Evelyn on the bed, still trying to get the stain out of the dress, only to be stilled by the girl's giggle.

"Pretty mommy!" Evelyn exclaimed, causing Alana to sigh. She flopped onto the bed next to her daughter, gesturing at her ruined dress.

"Mommy made a mess Evelyn." she said. If nothing else, she could use this to help teach. Alana had insisted on living in a house with cable, and she had tried her best to get Evelyn to watch pre-school programs on the television, but Evelyn was hardly interested. Still, they'd had this conversation enough that Evelyn knew what Alana was looking for.

"Time to clean up!" Evelyn sang, clapping her hands. Alana rolled over, wishing it was that simple, when all of a sudden she felt her dress rustle across her body. Looking down, she saw that her dress had now turned a beautiful shade of blue, the exact same color as the now invisible ink stain. Rushing to the mirror, she noted that the dress did not look half bad. In fact, the dark color suited her better against her pale skin and dark hair, two of few features she shared with her daughter. At first she was astonished at her good luck, until she realized what exactly had happened. Beaming, she scooped Evelyn into her arms, twirling her daughter around and laughing. This was the way Nelson found them shortly after, when he returned home.

"Are you alright?" he asked, before stopping cold. He didn't remember ever seeing this dress in his wife's closet, and as he was still in his very early twenties, he noticed immediately what it did for his wife's figure.

"You look beautiful" was his next statement, which finally caught his wife's attention.

"Darling, Nelson, Evelyn did it." At his confusion she gestured to the dress which, now that he thought about it, looked an awful lot like a prettier version of the one she'd been wearing earlier.

"Evelyn did magic!" she announced, just to be clear. Neither of them had ever been happier.

Unfortunately, as Evelyn got older, she began to hate the stares she got from people. No matter how much her mother tried to convince her it was a good thing, something she should be proud of, Evelyn quickly grew tired of all the people who would stare at her. It was as if being beautiful meant she didn't deserve her privacy. It made her happy that she was able to help her mother's life so much, and she knew her parents loved her for much more than her beauty, but that didn't mean anyone else did. Her being pretty gave everyone else an excuse to stare shamelessly, but apparently it wasn't enough for them to get to know her.

Evelyn was not excited as she stood on the platform, her parents each gripping a hand proudly. As they had walked through the muggle station she'd been stared at by nearly everyone, and the magic side was clearly to be no different. She fidgeted. Of course she didn't necessarily want to leave her parents, but at the same time she wanted to try to find an empty compartment on the train. Unfortunately, as her mother started crying at losing her good luck charm, and plastering her with kisses, it was clearly not to be.

**Astraea Selene Selwyn**

Fortunately for Astraea Selwyn, she was one in a set of twins. Even more fortunately, her twin was a boy, Helios Selwyn. Perhaps most fortunate of all, in the womb Helios had somehow managed to be the first one out, so that in the most technical of senses, he was her older brother. Because of this, there was peace in the Selwyn household, as her mother Brianna had managed to deliver a son as the Selwyn heir. However, nobody reaped the rewards of this more than Astraea who, quite simply, was doted upon.

It was hardly a surprise to anyone that Brianna, a former model from Witch Weekly Spain, had produced two absolutely beautiful babies, who grew into beautiful children and were sure to be beautiful adults. However, that didn't mean that everyone couldn't dote upon them fervently. From the moment they were born, Helios and Astraea did everything in matching clothes made of the finest material, received nearly everything they asked for, and were generally treated as the best thing to ever happen to their family. The Selwyn family fully believed in doting on their children, and dote the Selwyns did. Even their father Hershel, who swore he'd never spoil his children as much as he was spoiled, found it nearly impossible to say no to the two sets of pleading eyes. Especially when Astraea's lower lip started to tremble.

Things on their mother's side were hardly better. Brianna's mother had never expected her to settle down long enough to have children, so she was especially ecstatic. From birth she bought Astraea every frilly dress, hair ribbon, and other girly accessory she could find. And, as Astraea got older, the gifts began to pour in for different reasons.

Simply put, Astraea Selwyn was charming to the umpteenth degree, at least when faced with adults. From childhood, the twins were photographed as part of their mother's legacy, the two beautiful babies every witch in Spain wanted to gawk at. As if it were a gift, both Astraea and her brother knew just the right way to smile, tilt their heads, frown, and even blink so that any adult that faced them fell deeply for their charm. It wasn't as though two children with wealthy, pureblood parents needed this advantage, but that didn't stop them from using it. However, as Astraea got older, small differences between her and her brother began to become evident.

Helios was clearly a people person, although his favorite person was undeniably his sister. Still, he got along with new people he met with gusto, quickly befriending the Nott children, the Zabinis, Scorpius Malfoy, and every other child his parents introduced him to. Astraea did not share this trait. Where her brother befriended people, his easygoing nature coming directly from his father, Astraea held herself to a higher standard. She always turned her nose just slightly up at the people her brother called his friends, and surveyed them with a certain cold regality that seemed to have come straight from a page in one of her mother's spreads. Of course, this did nothing to stop her charm. In fact, it actually made her more charming in a way. Because she was so aloof, even as a small child, people felt they had to earn her friendship. She did nothing to dispel this notion.

Astraea was never trying to be unkind. She was, however, often simply unaware of people that didn't matter to her. It wasn't that she was ignoring them. She literally did not see people around her unless they were brought to her attention. She had her parents and both set of grandparents doting on her, in her opinion she hardly needed more people. Although Hershel found his daughter's standoffishness a bit troubling, her mother absolutely encouraged it. As far as she was concerned, she was raising the next high society star. In truth, Hershel was more concerned about his children's ability to use magic, which, they both did splendidly.

Their bouts of accidental magic came only when they argued, and it often shocked both children so much that the arguing wasn't worth it anymore. One such time they'd been arguing over the new toy Firebolt that Hershel had picked up on his way home. Never once had Astraea shown even the slightest interest in brooms of any kind, let alone riding on one. As usual, Hershel had dropped it off in their bedroom, expecting Helios to snatch it up, except that Astraea decided she wanted it.

The arguing began verbally, until Astraea, in a fit of anger, clambered onto the broom and began riding it away from her brother, who chased after her angrily. He jumped onto his toy Nimbus and chased back, a sight that Hershel thought was funny until suddenly, a crying Astraea was on her broom high in the air scared for her life as an angry Helios looked on. Before Hershel could levitate her back down, Astraea got her revenge. As she screwed up her face, her brother's Nimbus smashed him into the wall, before dumping him off sideways. Upon his impact Astraea's broom plummeted, luckily stopping a foot off the ground with no real injury to the girl. Before Hershel could intervene, she hopped off and went to check that her brother was okay. She then handed him the Firebolt and went back to her other playthings. Hershel was so shaken up it was a while before he interfered with playtime again.

As they got older, the differences in their personalities grew more noticeable. It soon became clear to her parents that Astraea would only speak and associate with those she deemed worthy of her time, no matter how much prodding either of them did. In fact, the only surefire way to get her to speak with anyone was to have Helios tell her to, and even then it was always with a casual reluctance, as if it were paining her to be social. They were an odd pair, but one that didn't concern their parents too much after a while. After all, Helios was more than protective of his sister. He made sure that everyone she interacted with understood just how special she was.

Kings Cross Station was so foggy that day that Astraea refused to let go of her brother. Brianna was on set that day promoting her new cosmetic potion line, and Hershel was away on business, so the two were with their nanny Jennifer. Jennifer was attempting to convey all of their parents' warnings and advice one last time, as she was instructed, but Astraea was more concerned with finding people to talk to. According to her father the train ride was rather long, and it seemed she was doomed to spend it with her brother and his friends.

**September 1****st**** Year One**

On the train ride, things went as were to be expected. Rose sat with her cousins and had a jolly time, leaving her more than eager to get to Hogwarts and to Gryffindor. Astraea and Helios had sat in a compartment with Blanche Zabini, Georgia Fury, Scorpius Malfoy, Preston Nott, and a few older Slytherins. While Helios laughed and joked with them all Astraea barely had time for anyone but Blanche, a girl she'd known since before she could remember. Eden had settled in with a similarly friendly group of people of all ages who set about explaining Hogwarts life further and told her all about the houses, with a special emphasis on Hufflepuff. Andie let Wes lead her to a group of boys, and spent the ride cracking them all up, something that seemed to bother Wes to no end. Evelyn, for her part, sat reading in a compartment as girls that she barely knew gossiped and chatted around her, sure to slip her a compliment every few minutes in case she forgot how pretty she was. Fate had left them to their own devices on the train, but it was about to deal it's hand.

Rose had lost her family by mistake, but they were nowhere to be found. Of course everyone else would be going by carriage, but she'd at least hoped to sit by Al on the ride over. However, when a familiar blonde boy walked past the boat where sat by herself, her curiosity got the best of her.

"You can sit here!" she called, wanting to see what would happen. She wasn't sure what she expected, but the boy turned at the sound of her voice, so it was already too late.

"You're a Weasley" it wasn't really a question. Rose tilted her head to the side, her bright blue eyes boring into his sharp, silver ones. Once she'd decided that he meant her no insult, she smiled. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him, and now she was more curious as to why her father didn't like him.

"You're a Malfoy. Are you going to sit down?" The boy, seemingly confused, clambered into the boat and sat down abruptly. Rather than speak to Rose, he turned and waved over two people she'd never seen before. The girl had dark, straight, shoulder-length hair and straight bangs. The boy had an almost absurdly neat haircut.

"Isn't she a Weasley?" was the first thing the girl said, once she climbed into the boat. The boy immediately leaned in to whisper something to Scorpius, leaving Rose to talk to the girl. Things weren't going how Rose had planned them at all.

"I'm Astraea, and this is my twin Helios. We're Selwyns. This is Scorpius, who probably hasn't introduced himself yet. He's a Malfoy" Astraea smiled. She knew her father didn't care for the Weasleys, but she liked the look of this girl. Aside from Blanche, who she'd known most of her life, she hadn't been fond of the Slytherin hopefuls she'd met.

"She knows who he is, she's a Weasley" was her brother's reply. Astraea waved it away, turning to face the girl again.

"I'm Rose" the redhead smiled. She found herself feeling similarly partial to the brunette.

"That's a nice name" Astraea smiled, causing Scorpius to snort. She turned to glare at him, but Rose beat her to the punch.

"At least it's not pretentious like Scorpious." Rose blurted, although she thought it did seem to fit him. To Rose's surprise everyone laughed, and from there the conversation picked up quite a bit. Within minutes Scorpius and Rose had found a way to enter a debate about the merits and problems with every house. Astraea and Helios, delighted, watched. The only thing they could seem to agree upon was that neither of them wanted to be a Hufflepuff.

As the four of them were settling in, Eden was having a problem. She'd gotten separated from those who she'd met on the train when she'd dropped her Pygmy Puff, an adorable gift of a pet that she'd gotten from her parents as a surprise. After chasing it around a bit, she was afraid she'd go only to find out that there were no more spots left on the boats. When she spotted a boat with only two people in it, a boy and a girl, she clambered in, ready to make more friends.

"I'm Eden Marie, but you can call me Eden!" Eden enthused to the passengers. Andie, trapped with only Wes after being unable to lose him in the crowd of his friends, smiled eagerly.

"I'm Andrea!" she said and then with a pause added "But you can call me Andie!" She turned expectantly to Wes, who smiled.

"I'm Wesley, but I go by Wes" he enthused. Just as it seemed they would have a boat of three, a dark-haired girl walked up and sat down.

"I'm Evelyn Loom" she introduced herself with a small smile. Andie beamed. She'd already met two girls who seemed nice that weren't Wes, who looked a little perturbed at the thought of sharing the boat with three girls.

For her part, Evelyn was just glad that nobody had said anything. She liked these girls more than the girls on the boat already, as not one single one seemed to notice or care if she was pretty or not. As they sailed along, they chatted away about their lives, and Andie filled her new friends in on everything she felt they still needed to know about Hogwarts.

Of course, every first year was silenced by the sight of the castle. It loomed before them, both inviting and cautioning. Still, by the time they got to the sorting, the two respective groups of girls were fast friends. Eden, Evelyn, and Andie's warm personalities had gotten along swimmingly, while Rose and Astraea talked poor Scorpius and Helios's ears off. It was only after the sorting hat's song that the first years were truly quieted.

The first of the girls to be sorted was Eden. Wesley had already been sorted into Ravenclaw. Andie kept her fingers crossed for her friend, who she knew liked the friendly nature of Hufflepuff. Personally, Andie thought that Hufflepuff would be a good match for Eden. To her surprise, the hat was scarcely on her head for more than a second before it yelled

"Ravenclaw!" Surprised but beaming, Eden hopped off the stool to the traditional cheers of her new housemates before running over to join Wes where he sat. After more people had been sorted, Andie was eager to see where she'd be placed. She practically ran up to the stool, letting the hat into her head.

The voice inside the hat deliberated for a bit, but still released her fairly quickly with another

"Ravenclaw!" With a large smile Andie rushed to join her friends, sliding in between Wes and Eden. She'd been worried as the hat deliberated, saying things such as

"That's interesting" or "There's also this to consider" but in the end the hat had placed her where she knew she needed to be.

With last names near the end of the alphabet for their year, Rose and Scorpius had struck back up their conversation, albeit discreetly. As they continued only Helios managed to observe without getting involved.

"But that's ridiculous! It's not genetic, it's not like there's a Gryffindor or Slytherin gene!" Astraea cried, only to be shushed by a withering glance from both her brother and Rose. Fuming, she turned to watch the sorting of a girl she didn't know - Evelyn. For her part, Evelyn didn't care what house she was sorted into. Although she was convinced that Hufflepuff wasn't for her, she personally didn't think that Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, or even Slytherin sounded that bad. She realized, however, that the latter still might not be too excited about her muggle mother.

Evelyn tried to keep her head down as she approached the front. However, as she sat on the stool, everyone could see her. She could nearly feel the excitement people seemed to have over her sorting, and she hated knowing it was just because of how she looked. She, after all, was a nobody; she doubted anyone in the room knew who a Loom was, let alone cared. Her torture was short-lived however. The hat barely sat on her head before proudly declaring her.

"Ravenclaw!" With a smile, she went and sat across from Andie and Eden.

"We're together!" She smiled. Soon, Andie had her laughing enough to forget about the stares, and ignoring everyone else around her, she focused on the sorting.

Before he knew it, Scorpius was up to be sorted. When his name was called, he swaggered up to the stool, earning him an unladylike snort from Rose, and an eye-roll from Helios. Just like his father, grandfather, and every other Malfoy male before the hat barely touched his head before announcing his house.

"Slytherin!" nobody was surprised, and as everyone at Slytherin house cheered to welcome him over, he shot a wink at Astraea. She knew what he meant. He was referring to her claim earlier that the sorting had nothing to do with family names. Frustrated, she still managed to glide to the stool when it was her turn, perching on it gracefully. However, as soon as the hat touched her head, she begged not to be in Slytherin. To her surprise the hat, which seemed to ignore her shouting thoughts, actually took its time sorting her. Still, even with its musings, she was just as shocked as every other Slytherin in the Great Hall when the hat shouted

"Ravenclaw!" That side of the room went still, almost seeming to mute the clapping at the Ravenclaw table. Nervous, Astraea still shot both Scorpius and Rose a knowing glance as she took her seat. She proceeded to speak to nobody, eyes glued to her brother.

Unfortunately for Astraea, fate wouldn't give her everything she wanted. Helios was sorted into Slytherin and as he went and sat by Scorpius, and she caught Blanche's confused and worried looks, she wondered if she'd done something stupid asking the hat not to put her in Slytherin.

Unfortunately for Rose, she was one of the last to be sorted. When her name was called, she walked up slowly, looking out at the sea of red that was her family. Even Albus, who had been the most nervous, was now a proud beaming Gryffindor. To her surprise, the hat actually considered other houses with her. It quickly dismissed Slytherin and Hufflepuff, however it kept toying with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. Remembering what Al had said about the hat letting you choose, she almost urged it to say Gryffindor. However, before she could a flash of blonde caught her eye. Dominique, her brave cousin who had chosen to sit with her Ravenclaw friends on the train rather than her extensive Gryffindor family. In that moment of recognition, the hat made her decision for her.

"Ravenclaw!" Rose expected silence, but she should have known Dominique wouldn't allow it. The minute the hat had made it's declaration she jumped up, accompanied by a suddenly beaming Astraea Selwyn. Before long the entire house was screaming, and Rose noted that her cousins, although shocked, were also quietly clapping with smiles on their faces. She wasn't looking forward to owling her dad, but then she remembered that he had wanted her to beat the Malfoy boy in everything. Technically, by being in Ravenclaw, she'd already proven she was smarter. Smiling, she practically ran down to sit with Astraea. With Astraea's sour mood quickly lifted, the pair soon introduced themselves to Evelyn, Eden and Andie.

Fate seemed to have done its job well, as somehow the five girls seemed to click. Perhaps because she'd met them in small doses, or simply because their personalities interested her, Astraea found she had no problem speaking to the girls. She managed to ignore anyone else who tried to get her attention. Eden, the friendliest of all of them, already seemed destined to keep the peace while Andie stopped any potential awkward moment in its tracks with her humor. Rose could hardly come across as a know-it-all because every girl knew just as much as she did. Evelyn had found the small group of people who actually couldn't have cared less how pretty she was, far more interested in knowing her for her.

Throughout that night and the first few days, it became clear that the five girls were destined to be friends, and that they all stood out. However, it wasn't until the girls all started to do everything together that people started talking about them. Rose and Astraea would have been talked about anyways, as many people couldn't comprehend how girls from two such different families could be friends. Also, although her friends didn't care, many other people noticed Evelyn and always would've. Even Eden and Andie, Eden for her irresistible friendly charm and Andie for her stoic looks but easy humor, would have garnered some dinnertime discussion. When put together though, the girls became a force to be reckoned with. Strolling down the hallways shoulder to shoulder, the way they always seemed to end up, they created a picture that people couldn't help but look at.

One thing that quickly became apparent, through all this observation, was that the girls were in Ravenclaw for a reason. Cutthroat, they fought for the best spot in every class, each girl having her own personal victories. Between the five of them, nobody else had a chance.


	2. One

**A/N: **I didn't get the response I wanted from this story, so we'll see. If I don't get a response by Chapter 5 I might just pull it. SO please, please if you read this and you enjoy it, go ahead and follow or review! If you liked Delicate or Percy's Girls I think you'd like this too!

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><p><strong>Four Years Later: Summer Before Fifth Year<strong>

"Have you gone mad!" Evelyn sighed, throwing herself back on Rae's large bed. The argument, one she found childish and invalid anyways, had gone on much too long for her liking.

"Rose, she's not going to see reason" Andie sighed, rolling her eyes at her overcautious friend. She sat on the floor, her back to the bed, absentmindedly playing with Rae's hair.

"Eden Marie, take that thing out of your stomach right now! Everyone is going to think you're some kind of scarlet woman!" Rae suppressed a giggle, turning instead so that her head was in Andie's lap. From this new position she could see her arguing friends, and the piercing that had sparked the conversation.

"Rose, can't you just let it go! It's a huge deal for muggle girls, and my friend Bethany convinced me to get one with her. We're meant to be down at the lake already and you hate being late!" It was a valiant attempt, but Eden and everyone else knew it was fruitless. Rose was determined to get rid of Eden's new piercing, just as much as Eden was determined to keep it.

"I think it's sort of cute" Evelyn tried, sitting back up. Sitting in Astraea's room while Rose and Eden argued over something that she viewed as insignificant was hardly what she'd envisioned the day would look like.

"You do?" Rose's glance was angry, and when Evelyn nodded her assent she threw her arms up in the air.

"Fine! If nobody cares that Eden is turning into a trollop, I'll just keep my mouth shut." Rose wasn't fooling anyone. If she still cared, no comment from anyone would have gotten her to stop arguing. Perhaps the lake comment had gotten to her after all. As she looked at it more closely, she had to admit that the piercing did look cute against Eden's tan belly. Although on any other Hogwarts girl it could have looked trampy, Eden managed to make it somehow look adorable, just like everything else.

Seeing that the argument was over, Andie shoved Astraea off her lap so that she could jump up and check her reflection one last time. After catching herself, Astraea glared at her friend straightening her own bathing suit. The girls' bikinis all matched, this time a result of shopping in muggle London with Eden. Each girl wore a bikini with some sort of Ravenclaw blue in it, although anyone who knew them closely would know that it was more out of self pride than house pride. Quite simply put, the girls were more than popular at Hogwarts.

Fate had been kind to them. Each girl had grown up not only intelligent, but also attractive, and they knew it. They balanced each other out nicely, Astraea's aloofness with Eden's friendliness, Andie's humor with Rose's practicality, and there was hardly anyone needed to be prettier than Evelyn.

"Can we go now?" Astraea was impatient, nothing was new. She'd found the one bikini that was green and blue, the two colors matching nicely. It wasn't so much that she had Slytherin pride, but last year, before the year had ended, she'd overhead Scorpius Malfoy and Arthur Grayer speaking about her. She didn't like either of them, but she knew that people in fifth year were practically expected to start dating. As she looked around, she wasn't the only one primping.

Evelyn's choice of bikini was actually more of a monokini, as the top and bottom were joined by a thin silver chain. She knew that there was never a moment when she didn't look perfect, but that didn't mean she didn't like to occasionally improve. Her long dark hair, full of volume, sat brushed to her right, framing her face and highlighting her smooth skin. As of yet, she was still the only one of her friends to actually accept a Hogsmeade invitation from any Hogwarts boy, and although her 'relationship' with Oliver hadn't really gone anywhere, she wanted to one-up herself by having a real, adult relationship.

Andie couldn't care less about how she looked, although she'd allowed an excited Eden to talk her into buying the simple blue and black bikini cutout suit instead of the blue full suit she'd wanted. She was known for being the most laid-back of her group of friends, but she thought it made her more attractive. She was the low-maintenance one, the one who would rather be making blokes laugh than nagging them about their appearance or typical romantic arguments. According to her sister it only worked because she was attractive, but Andie didn't care. It wasn't as if she was particularly interested in Hogwarts boys before. She'd had a crush or two, but she'd never really gone on a date.

Neither had Rose, the only one of her friends who wore a plain blue two piece. She had more important things on her mind, like making sure she didn't get caught. Ever since first year, Rose had petitioned her father for Astraea to come to their home, or for her to visit the Selwyns, and ever since first year Ron had refused. As far as her parents knew, she was at Eden's home in muggle London for the week. She felt guilty lying, but Eden had given the Weasley's her mobile number, so if anyone called "the home" the girls just had to say that Eden's parents were "out."

At the moment Eden was adjusting the straps on her own blue and bronze bikini, always faithful to Ravenclaw colors. Her piercing, still a bit sore, stood out nicely against the muted colors, as she knew it would. Despite what Rose said, Eden was proud about her piercing and its location and didn't find it trampy at all. Besides, she knew Bethany from years of riding lessons, and the girl would never have advised her to get it done if it was the least bit inappropriate. Bethany went to a catholic girls' school.

"Let's go then." Astraea was tired of the girls standing around in her room. Although she knew she actually couldn't, she imagined she could hear the shouts of her brother and his friends.

A few minutes later, the girls hid in a patch of bushes by the lake. Rose was trying to keep her hair from being spotted, while Andie and Eden kept lookout. Evelyn was trying to come up with a grand entrance and, as usual, Astraea was scrutinizing the company her brother kept.

"But honestly, we've known Nott for forever. I swear he's Hel's best friend except maybe Arthur. Even Scorpius I understand. But Cabot? Before Hogwarts my brother wouldn't have touched him with a pole. I bet he still leaks snot, did I ever tell you…" she trailed off as Evelyn's eyes narrowed. She was having trouble thinking.

"Rae!" the girls had all picked up her brother's nickname for her, and she'd let them. Everyone else had learned to call her by her full name, especially after she'd shot a particularly nasty stinging jinx at a sixth year.

"Well, I'm sorry, but have you seen him? He'll probably pee himself from touching one of us. Do you know he still can't ride a broom properly?"

"I give up!" Evelyn cried. There was quiet by the pond, which the girls noticed immediately.

"Now you've done it" Rose sighed, sinking lower. The sound of cautious footsteps could be heard approaching their hiding spot.

"Do something, they'll think we're creeps!" Eden supplied, still peering at them through the shrubbery. Andie rolled her eyes, pointing her wand through a small parting in the leaves. Behind the boys there was a loud splash, and Andie quickly pulled her wand back.

"They're running back!" Eden noted, and Rae smiled.

"Tell me when they get to the shore" she laughed to Eden, who nodded.

"They're close" she said seconds later, and Rae was off. After a moment the girls stood and ran after her, unsure of what she would do. The boys turned at the sound of footsteps, and turned to see five beautiful girls running towards them. The picture was shattered when Astraea raced forward, launching herself onto her brother's back, and causing them both to fall into the lake. She surfaced first, smiling.

"Come on in then!" Andie didn't hesitate, running past the stunned onlookers and splashing her way into the water. Rose quickly followed, after which the remaining boys clambered in. Both Eden and Evelyn walked out to the edge of the dock on the lake, sat down, and let their feet hang down into the water.

"Aren't you getting in?" Eden vaguely recognized the boy who asked the question, but at the moment her mind was drawing a blank. All she could focus on was his chest, arms, legs, and just about everything else. She almost forgot to speak.

"Oh! Uh…" before she could answer, he pulled himself onto the deck and sat down next to her, examining her stomach.

"What is that?" he asked, eyes flashing. Before she could answer Rae hauled herself out as well, plunking herself down next to her friend. She wore a wide smile that didn't usually come out, and the boy seemed to have noticed, abandoning his examination of Eden' stomach in favor of Rae's attention.

"Preston, are you bothering my friends?" Astraea included Evelyn, although she was laying out trying to get tanner, clearly oblivious to everyone else.

"Of course not Astraea, merely examining Eden's, well, you never told me what it was." His attention was back on Eden now, but before she could think of what to say, Evelyn chimed in.

"Don't wizards get piercings?" Astraea laughed, while Preston looked confused.

"My mum has her ears pierced?" Preston offered, and then looked at Eden's stomach again. Before she could react he reached out and examined it with his hands, effectively caressing her stomach.

"Muggles pierce themselves in other places?" he asked, and Eden nodded proudly. It felt kind of strange to have him touch her stomach, but in a good way.

"It took forever for me to get my mum to agree to it, but yes. They get piercings everywhere, well, girls do. I mean, some guys do too, but only the alternative ones. Er, the strange ones." she corrected herself when she realized nobody but Evelyn would know what alternative was. Preston was still touching her, clearly fascinated.

"It's cool." Preston decided, and then turned to Rae.

"You gonna jump back in?" he asked, breaking out into a smile. Rae rolled her eyes, sliding back into the water and going after Andie. The girl was surrounded by Helios and Arthur, and the two Slytherin boys seemed intent on dunking her. She'd pretend to help, but really Rae wanted in on dunking her outgoing friend. That is, if she didn't go dunk Rose. She and Scorpius had gotten into their own little splash fight.

"Stop it! Stop! Scorpius Malfoy you" Rose had to stop speaking as the next spray of water entered her mouth. She spat it out angrily, but Scorpius was nowhere to be seen. All of a sudden she felt something grab her legs, but before she could scream she was pulled under. She whirled around in shock, coming face to face with a smirking Scorpius. She couldn't look away from his smile, even though he looked entirely too proud of himself. They stayed like that for a second too long before Rose kicked back up to the surface.

She looked around, but nobody else seemed to have noticed. He came up for air a second later, still smiling, until she sent a colossal wave towards his face. As he spluttered, she laughed and swam back towards Evelyn, who lay next to a wistful looking Eden.

"Why won't you get in?" she asked, dripping on the wood as she hauled herself out. Evelyn sat up, her dark hair falling around her face. She drew the attention of Winter Cabot, who swam up to join the girls on the shore, much to Evelyn's dismay.

"Hello" he said, resting his arms on the dock. She stood, not even bothering to respond. She took two steps back, and then launched herself into the water, swimming over to where Helios, Arthur, Rae, and Andie all joked around.

Everyone stared after her awkwardly, before Eden sent Winter a smile.

"She was just talking about hopping in" Eden lied, before turning to a grinning Rose.

"I don't want it to get infected" she said, pointing at her piercing. Rose rolled her eyes, pulling her friend into the pool with her. Winter was awkwardly close, but Rose swam off to actually help Andie, leaving the two of them alone.

"How's your summer going?" she asked, trying to subtly create space. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, but she wasn't particularly looking forward to touching him either. He didn't seem to get it, swimming closer as she swam backwards.

"Better now" he said, smiling at her.

"Oh, uh" for the second time that day Eden was speechless, but this was for an entirely different reason.

"You know, Eden, you have to be the nicest girl I know." Eden didn't want to be rude, but if he moved any closer she and Winter would be touching. Biting her lip, she fought for what to say. Before she could, Rae came up behind Winter.

"Cabot, are you harassing my friend?" Astraea had perfected the icy tone. Winter turned as quickly as he could in the pool, daring to smile at Astraea. She did not smile back, but rather raised an eyebrow.

"We're just talking, Astraea" he said, and Rae rolled her eyes. She'd read some of her twin's mail when their owl brought it to her by mistake. She knew that Winter Cabot thought he actually had a chance with her friends, and she was doubly committed to making sure it never happened. She knew what it meant to Evelyn that they all start dating, but she'd known him growing up and she couldn't imagine one of her friends cheapening themselves by dating him. More than that, she knew that he'd try to take advantage of Eden's kindness.

As the day went on, Astraea had fun playing keep away with Eden, although Eden was hardly aware of the situation. Eventually the Slytherin boys left for the day, and the five girls plus Helios settled for dinner in the manor.

Evelyn knew her mother would have a fit if she could see the dining room her daughter currently sat in. It wasn't even the full dining room, just a place for family, but everything at the round table was elegant. The table sat the ten of them comfortably, but she wondered if it didn't get lonely with just the four Selwyns. Then again, she could say the same about the house in general. Large and open, it was the kind of house that you could spend a full day and not see anyone else living in it.

Eventually, Helios excused himself and the girls followed suit. After a long day, all of them were looking forward to settling into the comfort of the beds in the guest room and getting to sleep.


End file.
